On more than one occasion, Warsaw has accused Minsk and Moscow of orchestrating an influx of African migrants through Belarus to put pressure on the EU.
Polish authorities claim that illegal immigrants from Belarus have decreased by 50% from the establishment of a border buffer zone. The zone was reestablished three weeks ago in an attempt to curb irregular migration.
Warsaw has accused Minsk and Moscow of orchestrating an influx of African migrants through Belarus into the EU in what it calls a hybrid war.
The EU border agency Frontex says the number of people trying to cross the bloc’s eastern border has almost doubled in the first half of this year.
Until July 2022, Poland had declared a state of emergency with the establishment of a “red zone” about 5 km long, fully militarized.
Human rights activists were not allowed to approach them to bring basic aid to the migrants, such as blankets, food and water. The area was also off-limits to journalists. To express your solidaritysome residents of nearby villages had placed green lanterns outside their homes.
Migratory pressure on the European Union
According to Warsaw, Alexander Lukashenkothe Belarusian prime minister, wants to exercise political pressure on the EU. The Belarusian government had facilitated the entry of migrants into the country and, once they arrived, they were allegedly heading towards the Union’s borders.
The strategy would respond to the sanctions that Brussels had imposed on the Belarusian regime.
Poland’s response to Minsk
Hundreds of soldiers had been stationed along the border to block the entry of migrants. have been activated checkpoints, helicopters, drones, thermal detectors to monitor movements at the border.
Poland has allocated around of 350 million euros to the construction of a long steel barrier186 km long and 5 meters high, to make the border with Belarus as inaccessible as possible.
